Quote:
|
It seems as if this isn't the first critic I've seen focus too intently on Sauron's role as the personification of evil in LOTR. He is such a distant and undeveloped figure, and there are so many more fleshed out, less absolute ones: Gollum, Saruman, Denethor, Grima, etc.~Rikae
|
True and the reason I like Gollum better, also, is because there actually is the external battle between Gollum and Frodo - there is none between Frodo and Sauron.
Even if someone argues that the Ring's will is Sauron's, therefor when Frodo battles with the Ring, he is battling Sauron. I don't agree with that, because there always appeared to be a certain sentience about the Ring. The Ring wasn't just an extension of Sauron's will, it was
more than Sauron's will. Sauron created an object that was stronger than him...he couldn't destroy it. And the Ring could survive without Sauron, but Sauron could not survive without the Ring.
Also, if what Gandalf tells Frodo is true, this seems to apply to all the Ring's of Power:
Quote:
|
"A Ring of Power looks after itself, Frodo."~The Shadow of the Past
|
This makes it sound like The One Ring (and all rings of power) have a seperate "will" than their bearers or creators.
I do agree with
Pitchwife though, that just because on the surface there appears to be no relation to Sauron and Frodo, that doesn't mean there isn't anything. Generally Hobbits do not lust for power, and that would make them a good bearer for the One. However, don't forget, just how Hobbit-like was Frodo? I would not call Bilbo the stereotypical hobbit, other hobbits said he was strange, because Bilbo wanted adventure, he wanted to go beyond the borders of the Shire. Frodo, also shows signs of this, when he wants to leave the Shire and follow Bilbo. That doesn't make Frodo evil, but it certainly makes him different from our general assumptions about Hobbits. Also, during the Council of Elrond, Frodo was not forced to take the quest, he volunteered. Why?
